France halts fuel tax hike to calm protests

A protester wearing a yellow vest, the symbol of protest against previously announced higher diesel fuel prices, in Fontaine-Notre-Dame on Tuesday; (inset) Prime Minister Edouard Philippe

‘No tax merits putting the unity of the nation in danger,’ PM Philippe says in TV address, after more than a fortnight of ‘yellow vest’ demonstrations

PARIS The French government announced on Tuesday that it would suspend planned increases in fuel taxes for six months in a bid to quell fierce protests that have ballooned into the deepest crisis of Emmanuel Macron’s presidency.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe made the concessions in a rare televised address, after the country was rocked by intense street clashes and vandalism in Paris over the weekend.

“This anger, you would have to be deaf and blind not to see it, nor hear it,” Philippe said after more than a fortnight of demonstrations by socalled “yellow vest” protesters. “No tax merits putting the unity of the nation in danger,” he added.

Increases in regulated electricity and gas prices will also be frozen during the winter, while stricter vehicle emission controls set to take effect from January 1will be suspended for six months, he said.

“The French people who have put on yellow vests love their country, they want lower taxes and for their work to pay: That's also what we want,” Philippe said.

Pressure had been mounting after protests degenerated into the worst street clashes in Paris in decades, leading to scores of injuries and arrests.

The concessions, coming after an $570- million relief package for poorer households, mark the first time President Emmanuel Macron has had to give in to public opposition.

“The French don’t want crumbs, they want the whole baguette,” Benjamin Cauchy, one of the movement’s organisers, said, when asked about the suspension of fuel taxes.

█
Increases in gas and electricity prices will be frozen in the winter, stricter vehicle emission norms to be suspended six months